


Golden Scales

by Athaerys



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Mer!Shulk, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athaerys/pseuds/Athaerys
Summary: Alvis was just a normal researcher at Alcamoth Bay Aquariums, the leading marine conservation and rehabilitation establishment, when a stupidly sunny day and a boat trip into the bay meant as a destress activity led him into learning about a whole new type of life, and perhaps changing a few lives as well.Or; Alvis is a researcher, Shulk is a merman, and they both agree Alvis needs better co-workers.
Relationships: Alvis/Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32





	1. Why Can't People Do Their Jobs?

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh boy, this fic. This has quickly become from a "If no one is going to write this, then I will" project to me actually falling in love with it and turning into a slow burn. Oops. Anyways, I am determined and will finish this, even if it will take a long time. You can hold me to this.
> 
> I want to give a HUGE thank you to my friend Mona for throwing ideas for this at me nonstop for the past 3 days, this fic wouldn't have been possible without you and also happy birthday 
> 
> I also want to give huge thank yous to my two beta readers Mona and HanaHimus, you two are literal lifesavers who help make this fic happen.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this long journey! I know I will.

_ “Today’s the day. _ ”

Alvis couldn’t help but think as he woke up from his position on the living room couch, legs partially hanging off the side and his neck at a weird angle. To say it was a living room was a bit of a stretch, even for him. His small apartment didn’t have the biggest square footage, with a central room containing both a kitchen in the corner and everything else a living room should have, and a small hallway leading towards the single bedroom and bathroom. The only two major selling points of the small apartment most would complain about were the beautiful view it has overlooking the bay, and the convenience of its location. It was small, but workable and convenient, so who was he to complain?

This apartment was given to him by his employer Alcamoth Bay Aquariums, the biggest conversation and rehabilitation aquarium in the world, in return for him to be nearby the main facility and on call for any marine life emergency. It was quite common for him to be called in at random times during the night. He was frequently called in due to a rescue coming in that needed emergency help, and last night was no exception with an emergency involving the primary jellyfish tank that needed to be handled. Why a different person working the night shift couldn’t handle getting a Pacific Sea Nettle’s tentacles unstuck from between some rocks he will never know. This dependency to calling him for everything led to Alvis collapsing on his couch last night at 4 in the morning, even though he needed to be up at 6 AM for his research/survey expedition. 

This “expedition” wasn’t even that major, just an outing to the bay to do a check up on some fish populations. Usually he wouldn’t join something so menial, but after the last week of 2 AM emergencies every day and the unneeded call from last night, a small trip where he can relax and not loathe the ringer on his phone is needed. If he doesn’t join this, he’s going to assign some interns to handle an actual emergency and that’s the last thing anyone needs. This trip out is needed for multiple people’s sakes. 

Getting up from the awkward sleeping position he awoke in, Alvis walked towards his bathroom with a slight back pain to begin his usual morning routine. He didn’t have time or energy to clean himself up after the long night, instead prioritising what little rest he could achieve. After hopping out of a shower to rinse the sea water that somehow always manages to get in his hair, it was time he started on his make-up and skin care. Even if you’re going to be on a boat in the middle of a bay to be in the sun for hours, you have to look at least presentable to the general public. One layer of foundation and concealer to hide the obvious bags under his eyes later, he is almost presentable to the world. All that’s needed left is an outfit suited towards being on a boat for multiple hours and the emerald necklace he never leaves his house without, then he will be ready to make a simple breakfast and be on his way out to the harbour. 

By the time that he settles on a simple pair of dark jeans, a grey button-up, and some sneakers, the sun has already risen a significant amount and with no clouds in sight. He honestly would have preferred a partly cloudy or overcast day to do this work in, as a hot sun beating down all day is never fun, but oh well. Not much that can be done about that. Observing that slightly annoying fact, Alvis makes a mental note to grab sunscreen from the house before he leaves. Who knows which co-worker will forget theirs this time around and will ask everyone on the boat if they can use some. 

Walking back out to the main room, Alvis glances at the clock that’s hanging on the wall directly opposite of the entrance of the hallway to make sure that everything is according to plan. However, the clock’s face showed that it was almost 7:30 AM, which leaves Alvis almost no time to make breakfast before having to be at the harbour by 8 AM. The car ride from the apartment complex to the aquarium’s staff parking lot takes roughly ten minutes and drive-through can take anywhere from five minutes to 15 depending, which leaves almost no time at all. Deciding to forego a well made breakfast in order to actually be on time, he instead spends his time scrambling to find his IDs, wallet, and car keys. The keys and wallet were easy to find, they were left on the kitchen counter, though somehow the IDs wound up between the couch cushions which absolutely baffled him. He was just about to head out, pocketing all that he needed for the day before remembering that the sunscreen was still sitting on the bathroom counter and that it is a must-have for today. Quickly running to the bathroom, Alvis grabs the bottle sitting on the counter and books it out of the apartment, locking the door behind him before heading out towards his car to get a drive-through breakfast and coffee and eventually towards the harbour.

\----

Thankfully the stars aligned in Alvis’ favour for an easy morning after the initial rush to leave the apartment. There was little traffic for where he was driving, the line for the drive-through took almost no time at all, and so with a nice cup of coffee and something eaten, Alvis arrived at the harbour with 5 minutes to spare. He would have preferred to be roughly 15 minutes early, as that leaves more time to mentally prepare himself for the onslaught that is human interaction, though being early is much better than being late. 

Although a majority of the team he will be working with today is already here, there are some who haven’t arrived yet, so Alvis decided that now would be a perfectly good time to plan out the rest of his day. It is much better to know what to roughly expect for the day and plan accordingly than have no way of knowing what to do next, even though Alvis’ daily life doesn’t differ much. Even the random calls for an emergency have become regular enough to the point where he can plan around them, which thinking back on it is kind of sad, knowing that his sleep will constantly be interrupted due to the incompetent staff on the nightshift. Perhaps he should talk to his supervisors about this recurring issue...

By the time that Alvis had planned contingencies for possible events for the day and had decided to talk to his supervisors, the last of the team members had arrived and got ready. He thankfully didn’t need to do the extensive prepping that some of the others have to, as he will just remain on the boat and collect the data that is given through the diver’s cameras. It was easy work, work almost always assigned to some of the new part-timers and to test if the newbies can handle the usual monotonous work running the aquarium. Most of the time Alvis would trust that his co-workers and part-timers could handle the surveying alone, though everyone needs a destressor from time to time hmm?

The majority of the crew that was participating in today’s expedition knew that this was a rare time for Alvis to unwind from the stress of being on the emergency call staff, so they mostly kept to themselves, which he was eternally grateful for. It was no secret that he has been called in for late night emergencies, and that last night was no different.

It was thankfully quick to get the boat given to Alvis and the team for this trip sailing out towards the designated survey area. Although he wasn’t expecting anything major, the research team who needed the data have requested that they use one of their larger boats, just in case there was a big creature they need to capture for some reason. It seemed like it was overkill if anyone were to ask him, but there is no sense arguing with  _ that  _ team, Alvis learned a long time ago. So he simply agreed to take one of the larger vessels available to the diving teams, and planned this excursion. 

The smooth launch transitioned to a smooth first few hours of the data collecting with no major hiccups. As expected, one of those transcribing the data forgot their sunscreen and requested some from the other shipmates, though no other major incident occurred. The diving team managed to get quite a lot of data that was needed, some samples were collected of the ocean for some testing, and one of the divers even managed to find one of the tagged Sea Turtles that loves visiting the bay. 

That turtle quickly became a staff favourite due to it’s story. One of the young kids who frequently visits the aquarium found the poor thing hurt on a beach nearby and brought him to the rehabilitation teams to help him. Once those in charge of the turtle knew it was going to make it, the staff let the little kid name the turtle as thanks for bringing him in, and the kid named him Turters. Afterwards after rehabilitation and release back into the wild, Turters would regularly return to the bay and visit, which led to him quickly becoming a staff favourite and the game of “Who Can Predict When Turters Will Return?” was created. It was considered cheating to look at his tracker to see where he was, as that ruined the entire point.

\----

It was roughly 3 PM, after hours of working and recording, when Alvis heard one of the more loud crew members speak up, breaking his current train of thought about how this was a relaxing day.

“Uh, sir? Are ya busy?”

“I am not now, what is it?” Alvis groaned, putting his work laptop away to focus his attention on one of the divers currently taking a break. There goes his peace and quiet. “Is there some urgent matter I must look into now?”

“Uh well, I just would like a second opinion on something.” The diver started, with a slightly worried tone, “It’s been bugging me since I returned to the boat for my break, but there was something in the ocean I’ve never seen here before. I know this part of the bay like the back of my own hand, know the different fish that live out here and can recognise each and every turtle who visit these waters. I can even recognise Turters from quite a ways away!

“But while diving today, I saw something different. I didn’t think much of it at first, because I was focused on that school of tuna you needed data for, and it was only for a second before it darted out of view from the corner of my eye, but I saw something that was really red and gold, and the tail was huge! I think I only saw it because of the bright lighting today, the gold really stood out. I just want to know if that is something that anyone else knows about, yknow?”

“Red and gold you say? How interesting.” Alvis inquired with curiosity slowly growing. ”No I do not believe I know of any fish who live in these waters to be those specific colours. That sounds like something the tropical part of the ocean would have. Would you mind going into more specif-”

Before he could ask the diver for more details, because this was fascinating that there was something in the bay so unique, he was interrupted by the comms of the two divers currently out beeping before hearing a simultaneous yell of “THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER!”

“Oh dear heavens what is it now?” Alvis frustratingly responded, mostly to himself before grabbing the closest comm link and replying back, “What are you talking about? The entire point of this trip was to look at things in the bay, I do not see how this could be so-”

“Sir!” One of the two divers interrupts Alvis as soon as she reaches the deck of the boat, apparently the one who just contacted him. “While we were out swimming around and collecting data, we saw something reflect light back at us before it quickly swam away. I know it wasn’t one of the trackers we have on the sharks or turtles, the way it reflected light was different.”

“Ah you saw it too? Was it perhaps crimson red as well?”

“Yes sir! I was not aware that you knew of it? What is it if I may ask?” 

“We do not yet know, as I am not aware of any species of marine life with the colours that you have described to me that live in these waters.” Alvis said while quickly thinking of all the different possibilities of fish that could possibly be it. Nothing came up that matched even the vague description given to him.

“Then may I ask permission to release one of the nets to capture what it is we saw?” The female diver eagerly replied, curiosity obvious in both her tone and face. 

“Very well, if what you say is true in that it is a considerably large species,” Alvis begins while giving a quick look at the first diver who brought this mystery fish up before looking at both divers currently on the deck, “we shall use the large nets currently at our disposal.  _ However _ , if we do not manage to capture this creature before our scheduled return at 5 PM, we will return to the harbour and inform a more suited team for a long search mission. Am I clear?”

“Yessir!” Both divers respond with, before immediately running to get the nets released into the water. This was not how Alvis thought his day would go, he was hoping to get some more peace and quiet, however the prospect of discovering a fish that no one seems to know why it’s in the bay? It’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up, and he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t that interested. 

The two divers, along with the help of Alvis, quickly cast out the biggest net they had just in case. Both of the divers stated that they saw the creature in the northern part of the bay, so that’s where they decided to travel first in search of. The third diver of the team had not yet returned from the waters, however he wasn’t due to be back for another 15 minutes. In the meantime of waiting to see if they would actually catch this mysterious creature, Alvis decided it would be a perfect time to finish up collecting the data generated by the diving team.

It didn’t take long before there was a commotion between those onboard the ship, as when he emerged from work he was engrossed with, there was the third and final diver, back five minutes earlier than he should have. Apparently the other two were badgering him like a couple of school girls dying to know the latest gossip with questions about what happened while he was out and if he saw anything. 

As soon as he noticed Alvis arriving at the scene, he ignored the other two surrounding him to give his full attention to Alvis to say one thing.

“Sir, we seemed to have caught something crimson in the nets.”

  
  



	2. It's Always Sunny in Alcamoth Bay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shulk comes back from a trip to find humans out and about so he investigates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie this chapter took a bit to write, I was just never quite happy with it and Shulk is a lot harder for me to write than Alvis but I think its time I finally get this out
> 
> I'd like to give a quick warning for a panic attack that Shulk experiences near the end of the chapter, if you would like to skip it then skip the paragraph starting with "Shulk’s mind had decided that things were in fact, not fine"
> 
> It's brief and only that single paragraph, but thought to give a warning nonetheless

Humans are both a fascinating and inconvenient species. 

At least, that’s what Shulk always believed in. It was quite common for him to spend a majority of his time not hunting or sleeping trying to observe what the land people were doing. Of course, it was from quite a distance where he watched, no matter how interesting humans are, it wasn’t worth being caught! But that never really stopped him from wanting to learn more.

It became almost like a game, learning some new thing every day while also making sure he wasn’t visible. There were some days where it was too close for comfort, the especially bright days were the first to come to his mind. 

Those days were his least favourite. They were useful in the fact that it lit the ocean up so brightly there was clear visibility of what could be food and gave a scenic view of the area. Sometimes when he could on those days, he would just stare out of his cave-turned-home and watch the ever-active schools of fish. 

However, the downsides far outweigh the perks. While the lighting allows a better view of potential food (and friends!), it also allowed himself to be more visible. It was quite obvious that Shulk wasn’t from this area due to the rich colouring of his scales. Red and gold don’t really blend into a blue and grey background afterall. It was a lot easier to move around when days were overcast at least, the lack of sun muted all of the colours in the water, including his. 

Ever since the original accident of almost being discovered due to the sun reflecting light off his backfin, Shulk had learned to be a lot more careful during that type of weather. Sticking towards the sea floor, hiding in caves, and avoiding any human activity had become common behaviour during these particular days, which was never fun to the young mer but was needed.

There were some times where it was an extreme struggle to live in the area. Food sometimes wasn’t the easiest to acquire, and anything that had what he figured out was a tracker was an immediate no to food. Compared to the faint memories he has of living in warmer waters before being pushed away to find a new home, his life here was comfortable, if not a bit lonely. 

While doing a leisure swim back towards his well hidden cave, Shulk briefly considered what to do for the rest of the day. His hunting trip was done, so there was no longer a need to venture back out towards deeper waters. He could scavenge around the piers to see if the humans dropped anything interesting that he could take back to his home to tinker with, or instead relax and take a nap. The idea of scavenging sounded more appealing, so Shulk started to head towards the piers after a quick look around to see where he was. 

At least, Shulk had started to head in the right direction until he almost managed to swim in the direct line of sight with one of the giant ships currently out with humans onboard. Quickly realising just where it was compared to him, Shulk quickly swam further away and into an alcove nearby to hide for a small time. This was one of the ships that always fascinated him when he would be able to be close enough to the docks. It wasn’t often that the boat was active in the waters, so there was no way that Shulk would pass up the opportunity to research more about humans while watching the seacraft. 

Multiple minutes passed before Shulk poked his head out from his current hiding spot to check if anyone noticed him. Believing that he was safe enough to emerge from the temporary hiding space he was occupying, Shulk slowly left the safe area to begin looking for a comfortably far enough spot away from the boat to start watching. 

Places close to the water’s surface were an immediate no, even if those spots tend to be a slight bit more comfortable due to the waves considering the fact that it apparently was a bright day out and he was going to watch people. Deciding to continue the search for a hiding spot, Shulk swims a bit further away into a cluster of reefs and arches, hoping to find some spot he would be safe enough from the ship but close enough to watch. 

Thankfully the area Shulk decided to start searching in had what had to be the perfect hiding place for him. It was a giant reef with sea rocks lined up on both sides to give an almost crescent moon shaped area, with the main reef having a viewing platform just his size when lying down. It also has a circle cut out about the size of his head, if not a little bigger, that allowed a clear view and if any diver got close, he could hide his head quite easily.

Making sure there was no one around, Shulk slowly swam into what could be considered his best hiding spot yet to start his observation plan. It seemed that the boat was already there for quite some time, the anchor had been deployed and fish weren't hiding away, so maybe the vessel will stay there for longer. He hoped so at least, and if it doesn’t stay for long, he can at least watch how it operates and moves back towards the docks. 

\--- 

After about an hour of relaxing on a rock cleverly hidden by a reef and watching the ship, Shulk was getting a bit bored. The boat had done very little other than move somewhat in one direction, and with the majority of the action being one man pacing back and forth, seemingly muttering to himself when not working on some machinery that sits on a table in front of him, Shulk needed to stretch his tail. It was starting to stiff up from the slightly curled position he was in in order to fit completely on the reef. 

As he was swimming alongside and through the local reef, Shulk managed to find quite a lot of the friends he made who live in the area. First he met one of the turtles that he rescued when it was a hatchling. When he found it, the poor thing had a broken fin from some attack, and Shulk didn’t want it to die. Even though it would just be the natural cycle of life and fish die like this all the time, he gently grabbed the thing and put it on the shore closest to the rehabilitation facility, hoping that someone would notice the poor turtle and help it. 

The turtle was lucky that Shulk was previously up all night fixating on some items dropped into the area by humans. It was early enough to allow him to sneak up to the shore and carefully put the little guy on the beach without being spotted by tourists. Everything in the end turned out well, and now whenever the turtle (which he named Turters) was in the area, both of them would take a leisure swim together. It was more Shulk following along with Turters than both swimming together, but it was fun nonetheless. He wasn’t really in the mood for a swim with Turters, the people and ship were much more fascinating at the moment, but the turtle always stays in the area for a few days. Maybe tomorrow if the sun isn’t as bright out he will take a swim together and relax.

There were some other friends of his that he met while taking the stretch swim, including some friendly sharks and a school of tuna! Usually he would try and avoid sharks, they’re generally unfriendly to merfolk and will attack if provoked, though these ones in particular are luckily super friendly and let him grab their backfin so he can technically ride them while swimming. There definitely are perks to befriending the local marine life, and not taking advantage of at least some of them would be an absolute waste. 

It was when Shulk ran into the local school of tuna, did his day go from recoverable to absolutely terrifying. 

By the time that the school of tuna was visible to him in detail, Shulk got a grave reminder about what was actually in the waters with him, when out of the corner of his eye he saw what appeared to be a person in scuba gear. During the entire time he was out on his swim, partially to stretch his fins and partially to have fun, Shulk got so caught up in seeing his friends that he forgot there was a surveying team out and about today. 

It was such an easy thing to remember, he was watching the giant boat a mere 30 minutes ago with such an interest. Mer instincts kicked in immediately at the sight of the scuba diver, and he swam as quickly away as he could, hoping that he was stealthy enough to be able to have been unseen. It seemed that the diver was focused on the school of tuna between them, so maybe he would be fine. 

Shulk’s mind had decided that things were in fact, not fine, and began summarising what happened as well as generating many what-if scenarios. He managed to be possibly spotted by a diver, perhaps two knowing his luck, he completely forgot that he would be more visible due to the bright sun, and he could possibly be hunted down by the people on the ship. That totally wasn’t absolutely terrifying. Who knows what will happen to him if he gets captured? Would he be used as a test subject? Or put on display for everyone to see? Merfolk shouldn’t be completely unknown to humans, he’s overheard some people on the beach talking about his kind before. He’s also heard that the facility in the bay takes in a bunch of marine life, for both studying and rehabilitation, and Turters was there as well and he came back to the ocean eventually. Multiple times he’s seen fish come back to the ocean after visiting that place. Maybe he would be fine?

During this entire downward spiral towards a panic attack, which are considered deadly to merfolk due to losing spatial awareness and predators using that opportunity, Shulk had managed to slow down from his mad swim away from the boat and had come to rest in an area he wasn’t all too familiar with. He wasn’t really thinking about where he was travelling other than creating distance from the diver that he saw. 

However with this mad dash away from the diver, Shulk wasn’t quite thinking well enough to consider the boat that was also out in the area. The next thing he noticed and what brought Shulk out of his thoughts was the feeling of netting wrapping around his body, trapping his fins and limbs together with no way to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma try and have every few chapters switch to Shulk's point of view, though it wont alternate back and forth quite that often
> 
> Also just by looking at my current chapter outline, this is going to be one long fic so hope you guys are strapped in!


	3. Panic! on the Boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alvis and the others have a talk about what could possibly be in the nets, and panic when mysterious creature is revealed

“Are you sure of what you saw?”

When Alvis heard that the third and final diver of the team claimed that there was actually something in the nets, to say he was surprised was an understatement. He truly believed that they wouldn’t catch anything major in the nets, let alone what they were looking for. That was the entire reason why he agreed, because it would make the people he was stuck with happy and would leave him alone.

“I’m positive sir. It was hard to get a clear look at it, with it struggling against the net, however it definitely was red and gold. That I’m certain about.”

“Well, There’s no use in just standing around here.” Alvis says with a clear decision in his voice. He put his hands on his hips, cocking his head to the side slightly while addressing the divers. “We should bring the nets in, this was the entire reason they were released, no?”

“Y-yes,” The first diver who came back to report the strange creature stuttered out before looking towards the other two standing nearby. “Well? Let’s hurry it up! It won’t be long until the thing caught in the net breaks free!”

The two other divers give a startled “Yessir!” before running towards separate ends of the ship to begin the process of retrieving the cast net. They were yelling commands to one another immediately after the command was given, which if not for having already captured the target in question, the high amount of noise would have scared it away for good. 

Alvis didn’t really understand how the nets operated, he was the type of person to supervise and make sure everyone was doing their jobs instead of actually doing anything. It was better this way, supervising allowed him to carefully plan through every possible outcome to better adapt if a situation arose. Most of the time such a situation would occur, and his quick thinking and prior planning prevented a small incident from spiraling towards a major problem.

However the concept of something undiscovered in the bay was unthought of to him. Researchers have worked in these waters for absolute years, and scuba divers should know at least a high majority of what lives under the water. It should be impossible for something of that size and colour to outsmart multiple teams of researchers and even tourists. Unless..

Unless this creature recently migrated to the bay and was smart enough to learn human’s patterns and habits to avoid being spotted. And if  _ that _ was the case, then he might just have an idea of what this mysterious “fish” could be.

Curiosity got the better of him in the end, so he decided to keep a close eye on what everyone else was doing. It was better than working on logging data at least, and if his growing theory was correct, then the higher-ups could forgive one moment of not logging data. 

With everyone originally sent out on this expedition currently on the boat, Alvis had to make sure not to get in the way of the others. Carefully walking to make sure he doesn’t slip on any puddles of water on the deck, Alvis visited the closest diver near him who was currently working on the nets. 

“Hello there,” Alvis says, a faint smile on his lips as he addressed the other currently turning a valve. “Mind if I ask a few questions?”

“Alvis, sir! What would you--” One of the valves securing a rope line nearby suddenly broke loose, unwinding yards of rope at an alarmingly fast place. The diver was quick to grab the out-of-control valve, regain the rope that was released, and re-secure the loose valve so it doesn’t slip again. “Sorry ‘bout that. What we caught is apparently really strong. What were you going to ask?”

“Ah, there is no need to apologise.” Alvis waved one of his hands nonchalantly. “I was just curious as to your thoughts on the mysterious creature we have in our nets.”

“Well let me say first off that I appreciate the good fight it’s giving!” The diver chortles, “I haven’t seen something put up this much resistance in quite a long time.”

“You’ve experienced something like this before?” Alvis questioned, quirking an eyebrow up. This person could possibly help the idea he’s silently growing, and it would be best for Alvis to collect as much information as he possibly could.

“Yeah, it happened a few years ago. I was an open sea fisherman before becoming a cave diver you see, and it was on a routine outing when we brought up one of the nets we cast out earlier that morning.” He paused, his hands stopping what they were doing while he was remembering something. “We just started the routine to bring the net up, when all of a sudden we had a huge resistance similar to what we are experiencing now.”

Alvis was genuinely becoming interested in this story, as it wasn’t often when something could outpower an open sea fishing crew. Whatever it was, it was something that had a lot of strength and currently the prospect of being able to capture what was currently in their own nets was quickly shrinking. If it resisted so much on a giant ship such as the one from the diver’s story, what chance did their boat designed for bay capturing have?

“I see...” Alvis looked away quickly before responding, “Were you able to capture what was stuck in the nets?”

“No sadly, as the nets were pulled up, there was nothin’ inside. We even lost the entire rest of the catch.” He looked down, almost remorseful at what that fishing trip lost. “What was interesting however was the fact that it was  _ sliced  _ open from the inside, almost like someone tried to escape.”

Alvis froze. “Are you certain about that?”

“Certain as I am that what we have in the nets currently must be related somehow. I know a lot about the sea, especially about the really big and dangerous things out there, and whatever is in these nets is showing the same signs as what was in my nets all those years ago.”

“I see, thank you for telling me that story. It was truly fascinating and answered all the questions I had.” 

“Ah it was no problem! I’m always happy to tell that story if you want to hear again.”

Alvis then started walking away towards the center of the deck to get an overall look at what everyone was doing. That was at least partially the reason he wanted to step away, Alvis also needed to step away to mentally prepare himself in case his theory of them capturing a mer is true.

\----

Soon enough, one of the other divers needed a second hand with some of the mechanisms and so Alvis, the last free person on the vessel, got dragged into helping the entire operation of dragging the nets up from underwater. He wasn’t quite happy that he got roped into helping out due to his lack of strength, but he could manage for the time being.

It didn’t take too much longer for the top of the net to emerge from the bay’s water with the constant work of Alvis and the three others. The net was raising up extremely slowly due to the violent shaking, which tells Alvis that the mer they most likely caught didn’t cut through the ropes with the razor sharp fins on their forearms. 

At the current rate the hydraulics and manpower were taking, it would be at least ten minutes before anyone could clearly see what was captured. Alvis mentally sighed at the pace they were going at and settled on the fact that it would take some time. It was when the netting finally emerged from the water enough to confirm Alvis’s theory, did all hell break loose.

They had actually caught a mer, a young one from the size of him, though that was the only major note Alvis could make other than the dual colours he sported on his scales. No one had ever been able to capture one, or even get near one for that matter, but Alvis on an expedition meant for relaxation had accomplished a feat sailors around the world have competed for. Mentally, Alvis was absolutely screaming about the fact. 

The others on the boat however were vocally screaming.

“ _ Holy hell _ , is that what I think it is?!”

“A mer! It’s a freaking merman!”

“Am I dreaming here? We did  _ not _ just catch what I think we did, right?”

Even Red, the name which Alvis mentally assigned the mer temporarily, was freaking out in this situation. Ever since he was pulled from the water, Red had been struggling against the nets he was wrapped up in more so than when he was underwater. 

Alvis then realised there was a reason as to why he was thrashing around more so than usual. Red couldn’t breathe, he’s not in water. None of the others seemed to have noticed, most likely too caught up in the idea they are seeing an actual mer to realise the issue going on.

“Everyone!” Alvis announced, hands on his hips although never raising his voice. His ability to get anyone to listen if he tried immediately drew the attention of everyone including Red. “I understand that you are currently in shock over the fact that there is currently an endangered merfolk in the netting. I would be in shock as well, however the fact is that this mer right here  _ cannot breathe _ .” His words seem to be getting to the rest as they seemingly have stopped panicking to listen.

“You three know this boat and it’s mechanisms more than I,” Alvis continued, “however if we do not do something, and soon, we are risking the life of the only live caught mer to have ever been reported. Now I do not know your situations, however if I were known to have been on the team to have  _ lost  _ a captured mer due to negligence, how would you think that would reflect on me, hmm?”

At Alvis’s words, everyone’s faces blanched, realising just how important this expedition in Alcamoth Bay quickly became. It was no longer just a routine survey expedition, but instead something that could affect mer research around the world. Everyone then began running around, setting up the holding tank located inside of the ship so that the mer could be transported to the Aquarium without further harm coming towards him. 

Red didn’t seem to know what was going on, but was still thrashing around violently in the netting so Alvis decided not to try and approach to get a better view of him. It would simply have to wait until he was calmer and in Alcamoth Bay Aquariums before Alvis would be able to closely see how he looked.

Alvis considered himself lucky that the other people on the boat were at least sensible enough to listen to him during a crisis. He would have figured out a way to safely transport Red on his own if it was needed and no one would listen, but thankfully it didn’t have to come to that. The only issue currently is the fact they are working under an extreme timer, Red can’t breathe the air and no one knows how long a mer could be above water before passing out, if they could do that as well.

Only about a minute passed by before one of the divers, the former fisherman Alvis talked to earlier, began shouting orders on how to safely transfer the mer into the now filled holding tank. Alvis gladly helped this time around, wanting to be near Red and making sure that everyone ran as smoothly as possible to avoid stressing anyone out. 

It wasn’t easy for Alvis to keep up with the physical labor the rest of the crew asked him to do, even if all they asked was to pull a rope until Red was secured. That isn’t to say Alvis wasn’t a fit person. When his breaks from work allowed it, Alvis frequents the local gym located a few blocks away from his apartment and with the constant sprinting he has to do when there’s an emergency in the labs, he gets a majority of his exercise through running. He just doesn’t have a lot of upper body strength, that’s all.

Despite Alvis’s inability to assist further, the transfer went off without a hitch and Red was now safely out from the nets and is currently in the holding tank in the boat. With his entire day upturned over the fact that there is currently a live mer in the boat he was on, Alvis decided to end the expedition trip a bit earlier than usual. Continuing on would do no good, they got as much data as they could for the area and with such precious cargo, staying out would do only harm.


	4. Houston, We've Made Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Return to the mainland, encounters with colleagues and bosses, and an unforgettable scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a chapter I've been really excited to write ever since I started this fic, so I truly hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Also shout out to Monterey Bay Aquariums for having livestreams set up of their different exhibits, when writing this I usually put either the Shark tank or one of the jellyfish streams up to help me get into a marine headspace

The ride back towards the mainland felt like it would never end and also ended too soon. 

Alvis couldn’t help but pace the length of the deck while considering what to do once he arrived back to Alcamoth Bay Aquariums. He had phoned in as soon as they set out, quickly telling one of the departments to prepare a saltwater tank and to send a few trustworthy staff towards the docks for their arrival, although omitting what would be put in that tank. It would be best for as little people as possible to know just what they captured until he was secure in the facility, and even then it would be staff directly involved. Alvis could only hope that those tasked with procuring one at such short notice would forgive him once they learn of just what will be put in there. 

It was about Alvis’s fifth loop in his pacing when he took notice of the other shipmates, taken out of his thoughts by a loud cheer from the ship’s control room. They seemed to have been chatting amongst themselves before one of them grabbed the comm to cheer out, saying that they were about to dock. 

The docking procedure went smoothly, and just as Alvis was about to start walking from the shipyard to the main facility, he quickly remembered something he needed to do before heading out.

“May I have the attention of everyone who was called here in regards to my expedition?”

Alvis’s words, although not loud, held an authority that immediately attracted the attention of everyone nearby, even those of other staff currently there for different assignments.

“I would like to speak to you all privately for one moment.”

Alvis then walked over towards a less crowded part of the shipyard to allow their conversation to be in a relatively private area. This part of the shipyard was hardly used other than for storing crates, many of which have been sitting there for longer than they should have. Soon enough, four people, two of which Alvis recognised as Research Team 3’s researcher partners Zanza and Lorithia, joined him. 

“Well, Head Researcher Alvis, what’s so secretive that you had to drag us out to a deserted part of the shipyard in order to tell us?” Lorithia asked, upset at the fact that she was called away to deal with Alvis.

“Lorithia, might I remind you that I have repeatedly asked that I would prefer to be called just Alvis.” Alvis replied. “There is no need for you to constantly refer to me with my position.”

“I must say I am curious,  _ Head Researcher,  _ as to why you requested that this matter would be private,” Lorithia stressed his title, as if to remind him that she should have been head researcher, even if Alvis had no say in the matter due to different research teams.

Alvis never quite liked Lorithia, or her partner Zanza for that matter. They were newer to Alcamoth Bay Aquariums, with Zanza joining around four years ago and Lorithia two, however they have somehow managed to have become quite popular among the Aquarium, with the two of them assisting others in a wide manner of tasks. 

“Yes I’m quite fascinated myself as to why I must deal with  _ your  _ predicament,” Zanza chimed in, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers on his upper arm. “I was busy with my own matters and didn’t appreciate being called out to the shipyard by Galea to deal with whatever you needed. She even refused to tell us what we were even moving, saying ‘Alvis will tell us everything we need to know.’”

“There is a good reason as to why you four were called out here,” Alvis says, putting his hands out to placate the pestering duo. “Klaus and Galea don’t want the entire staff to know what has been captured until it is secure. It is simply a case of caution to limit the spread of rumours.”

One of the two also tasked with the transfer who Alvis didn’t know the name of spoke up in a meek voice, “What is it? I-It has to be something major for them to treat this with high secrecy, right?”

“I was getting to that, don't worry.” Alvis glanced around the area, making sure that no one was overhearing their conversation. “We have managed to capture a live mer, and the reason you have been called out here is to transport him from the ship where he currently is to the tank I assume they have told you about.”

Lorithia’s eyes widened suddenly before quickly looking at her nails, “My, that was not the creature I was expecting to hear. Frankly, I’m impressed that such a small group of  _ researchers _ managed to capture such a thing many biologists around the world have failed to for years.”

“Yes well, the world has many surprises.” Alvis chuckled. “I trust that you four will be capable enough to handle relocating him from the ship to the tank?”

Nods from the two quiet ones reassured Alvis. Afterall if they weren’t talking much now, it seemed to Alvis that they wouldn’t talk about this job to others. Lorithia gave a curt agreement, which Alvis would have questioned before Zanza spoke up, interrupting him.

“What, are you not going to help us?” Zanza spat out with hardly hidden sass. “I would have thought you would be joining us and making sure everything went perfectly, as you always want things to be.”

“Normally yes, I would join you.” Alvis sighed. “However, Klaus has informed me that I should report to him immediately after returning from the bay and so I am trusting you four to transfer the young mer safely and without alerting either the general public or staff who are not immediately following Klaus or Galea’s orders.”

Alvis quickly pulled his phone out of his back pocket to check the time before sighing. There were texts from both Klaus and Galea, asking where he was and how long he would be, which didn’t surprise him much. He did promise to be at their office as soon as he landed, and this detour to talk to those responsible for moving Red took longer than initially planned.

“I truly must be going now,” Alvis signed, really not wanting to go. “I trust that you four will be well enough on your own.”

With a hasty goodbye, Alvis started to walk towards the main entrance of the shipyard quickly, trying to make up for the time spent explaining the situation. As much as they were lenient, both Klaus and Galea didn’t appreciate waiting long, and no way was Alvis going to get on their bad side today. 

Speed-walking up the steps leading out of the docks, Alvis had managed to dodge the few others currently leaving or entering the area, not many giving him a second glance as he passed by, used to seeing the researcher frantically running from place to place due to emergencies. 

It didn’t take long for Alvis to reach the top of the stairs and one of the backdoors of the main research facility. There were multiple buildings in the complex, with the two biggest ones being Research and Aquarium, though Alvis only frequented Research unless there was an emergency. Shuffling through the pockets in his coat, it took until the last one checked to find his ID card to enter the building.

The research building always managed to impress Alvis, from its multiple laboratories constantly in use to the sheer amount of decoration adorning the walls. From photos of rehabilitated animals that have left the complex, murals depicting different ocean layers and what species inhabit those layers, to a picture of Turters at least somewhere on each level courtesy of Alvis (though no one knew it was him), the research building felt less like a cold laboratory and more like a place to belong. Even the floors were decorated to appear like sand on a beach. It was heaven to a majority of the workers, Alvis included.

Alvis sadly couldn’t stay long to appreciate the amount of care that went into decoration, and so he quickly headed towards his destination of the elevator to the left of the back entrance. It didn’t take long for the elevator to arrive after Alvis pressed the button, and soon enough he was slowly making his way towards the fourth floor where both Klaus and Galea were waiting.

\----

By the time he was stepping through the doors into his supervisor’s office, it was half past 5 PM and Alvis was prepared for the long conversation that was imminent. Klaus seemed to have been pacing in place by the time Alvis arrived, and as he opened the doors, Klaus perked up from his muttering to address Alvis.

“Alvis, there you are! I was wondering how long it would take. When you called in reporting the fact that you had captured a mer and needed to get a tank set up, I honestly couldn’t believe it at first. I mean, it’s the first live caught mer in recorded history and-”

“What Klaus is  _ trying  _ to say is that,” Galea cut in from where she was sitting at her desk, fondly sighing and interrupting Klaus who had started to spiral into one of his tangents. “We would like to hear what happened, please.” It seemed that these two never changed.

“Ah uhm, yes.” Klaus coughed, pink dusting his cheeks, “Please, tell us what happened.”

“Ah, my apologies sir,” Alvis said, wholly unfazed by the energy given off by Klaus moments ago. “I had planned to come to you immediately as I promised over the phone, however before that I realised I had to discuss something with the four people you sent out for the transfer.” 

“Ah yes, how did they work out for you? I admit I didn’t have the most amount of time to consider who would be able to keep quiet about what you captured, so they were the best I could get.” Galea asked.

“Zanza and Lorithia were slightly irritated understandably, though I trust that they will get the job done. They are reliable co-workers.”

“I’m glad.” Galea faintly smiled, before her face lit up with pure curiosity. “Now I’m dying to know, what happened?”

\----

It took around an hour for Alvis to explain the prior events in the day, Klaus constantly cutting in from his desk after directing Alvis to sit down. He seemed to be full of questions, which Alvis was happy to answer, and eventually they were caught up on events leading to the present.

“Are there any more questions sir?” Alvis asked after what seemed like 45 minutes of answering questions rather than a recap of what happened earlier. He was getting tired from all of the questions asked, and as much as he loved Klaus as a person, the eagerness did get tiring. 

“No, you’ve given me plenty to work with as it is Alvis, thank you.” Klaus smiled after writing down the last of his notes on Alvis’s story before his phone started to vibrate. “If you will excuse me, something has come up and I have to take this.”

After a quick apology, Klaus stood up and made for the exit, citing that he will be back as soon as possible, leaving just Alvis and Galea in the room. Galea seemed to be lost in thought over something so Alvis decided to just stay where he was. He didn’t notice it during his recap, but during the last hour his entire body tensed up and now not having to constantly answer questions and describe the day’s events in detail allowed Alvis to finally relax.

“To think that there would be merfolk in the Bay..” Galea trailed off, lost in thought. She glanced at the wall clock nearby before cringing slightly. “Anyways, Alvis, is there anything else you’d like to say before Klaus and I have to leave for the day?”

“Yes actually, there is something I have been wanting to ask.” Alvis stood up from the chair across from Klaus’s desk to stretch his back, creating a loud popping noise once he got up. “I would assume that you two will be creating a research team dedicated to merfolk?”

“That’s definitely true…” Galea hesitated. “We will be needing a team that will be focused solely on learning all we can about merfolk, there’s just so little we know of them and to tell you the truth, it’s hard to believe we actually have one captured.” 

A nervous chuckle slipped through her lips. It was obvious to Alvis that Galea was taking this matter very seriously and the pressure of being in charge of the beginning of a scientific breakthrough was starting to add up. Alvis couldn’t help but feel sorry for Galea, he knew she didn’t ask to have the weight of an entire scientific field on her shoulders. All she wanted was to rehabilitate endangered marine life and reintroduce them to the wild. 

Walking from Klaus’s desk towards the other side of the room where Galea was, Alvis stopped in front of her desk and looked at her directly in the eyes. He was determined to help ease the burden that he put on Galea, and Alvis would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to be on the team as soon as Red was captured. 

“Let me lead the research team.”

“A-Alvis, are you sure? You do realise how much pressure that would be right? When the word eventually does get out to the science world that there is a live mer in captivity and  _ you _ are in charge, everyone would immediately flock towards you and try to be a part of the research.”

Galea’s stunned face at his request gave Alvis all the more reason to go through with this. She has enough to stress about as it is, and adding an entirely new research branch would only make the rehabilitation departments strained. 

“I’m sure. Besides, wouldn’t it be best for someone who was there during the capture to be a part of the team?” Alvis smiled, slightly smug at the fact that his words seem to be convincing Galea.

“Yes, you do have a point there…” Galea looked away, starting to think of what would need to be done if Alvis were to become the lead researcher.

“I would also be nearby to both the research and aquarium buildings in case an emergency arises.” Alvis points out, knowing that it would be convenient for him to be constantly around in case something needing him does happen.

It didn’t take long after before Galea caved in, his reasoning convincing her that he would be a perfect fit for the position. 

“Alright Alvis, you’ll be in charge of all future merfolk projects and information. I will talk to Klaus to make sure he’s on the same page.” 

A yawn escaped Alvis’s lips before he took a glance at the clock, it’s face showing the time to be almost 8 PM. It seemed that his conversations with Klaus and Galea took longer than he originally thought, and now all Alvis can think of is going back to his small apartment to take a 12 hour nap he so desperately deserves.

“Thank you Galea, I promise I won’t let you down. Now, if you will excuse me...” Avis quickly stifled another yawn before walking towards the entrance of the office. Today’s interactions and chaos had drained Alvis of all the energy he could muster. As he was making a grab for the door handle, he managed to bump into Klaus as he was entering the room.

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry Alvis! I didn’t see you there! Are you ok?” Klaus cried out, checking over Alvis who had stumbled back after being walked into. 

“Please Klaus, I’m ok. No harm done.”

“Anyways, I’m glad you’re still here actually!” Klaus said eagerly. “I just got back from Lab 7 to tell you that the transfer went perfect and the mer you captured is safe in the temporary tank we had set up. Of course it is extremely temporary, it’s actual tank has been ordered and will be set up in time for moving it tomorrow, however it seems to be settling in.”

“Ah, I’m glad to hear that. Thank you Klaus, now if you will excuse me, I really must be going.” Alvis gave a little bow before finally leaving, noticing just how late it has gotten.

The hallway out of the office no longer had any natural light, instead everything was bathed in the cool and unnatural tones of the overhead lighting. Even the hallways were quieter, with a majority of the staff having gone home for the day, leaving Alvis alone to the sound of his shoes clicking on the tiles as he walked towards the elevator. 

As Alvis was travelling towards the elevator, he couldn’t help but notice just how different the facility was during this time of night. Usually during the day, it was filled to the brim of talkative workers, carts being pushed between rooms, and the sound of everyday life, but now? Now all that could be heard was the occasional shuffle of a late night employee and the ding of the elevator that just arrived in front of Alvis.

Normally, Alvis would immediately press the button taking him to the ground floor and would proceed to head home after a long day like this. But Klaus  _ had  _ told him where exactly Red would be for the night, and it wasn’t like taking a detour to get his first good look at him would cause any issues. He was the new leader of the mer research team, and it would be only natural for him to get a sense of what he was going to be working with in the immediate future. That, and he was curious as to what Red fully looked like. It was hard to get a good look other than colours while he was trapped in nets and thrashing around.

With his mind made up, Alvis moved his finger from pressing “Ground Floor” to instead pressing “Floor 2” where Lab 7, and Red, was located. The elevator didn’t take too long before Alvis felt the soft stop, signifying he reached his destined floor. As the doors opened, he couldn’t help but notice that this floor was even quieter than the previous one, with the only thing audible being the faint humming of machines from different laboratories. 

Alvis didn’t often visit the second floor, as a majority of these rooms didn’t directly involve marine life, but he knew it well enough to know the general direction he wanted to go in. The hallways of Floor 2 were straight forward enough, with them feeding into each other in a block system, so it was quite easy for Alvis to start heading in the direction he needed to go. It wasn’t surprising to Alvis when during the entire walk through the floor, he never ran into another person. The only sign that anyone was still here, or was here recently, was the fact the motion-detector lights overheard were still on. 

It didn’t take much longer for Alvis to find what he was looking for. Lab 7 was one of the bigger laboratories this floor had, and had a central tank set up for water testing in the past, although it isn’t used much anymore due to a recent building expansion. It should be a quick visit to check on Red, perhaps write a general description of his appearance, and then Alvis would be out for the night. 

As soon as he stepped into the lab and shut the door behind him, Alvis immediately noticed that the overhead lights were off. It was most likely due to inactivity, although there seemed to be a single golden spotlight currently active. Everything was cast in a deep shadow, including Alvis who couldn’t see the entire room due to a short entryway blocking a clear view. As soon as he stepped into view of the entire room, Alvis subconsciously let out a gasp at the view that greeted him.

Two black and gold eyes. That was the first thing Alvis noticed when he walked into view. Two golden irises surrounded in black sclera where normal human’s would have been white stared right at him. It wasn’t just the eyes, Red’s entire  _ body  _ was facing Alvis, allowing a perfect view of the red tail that Alvis had thought of when giving the moniker Red. However, it wasn’t all red. In the place of what normally would be lighter underside scales that would match the main tail colour, were instead scales that fade from red into a rich gold. 

It wasn’t just the underside scales, it appeared to be all of his fins too. The two angular fins on his forearms used for defense, the softer fins where ears should be on a normal person, even the fins running along his back and at the end of his tail. His upper half looked human enough, save for the two sets of gills on his neck and lower sides. Not to mention the platinum blonde hair floating around the mer’s head, glowing from the overhead lighting, framing his face perfectly. 

  


Alvis couldn’t help but stare as he slowly walked towards the tank to get a better look at Red, subconsciously pressing his palm onto the glass. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t notice Red mirroring his motion, pressing one of his hands gently against the tank where his own hand was, allowing a perfect view of the pads on the palm and fingers of his hand, the webbed fingers that matched the colour of his fins, and the slight claws on his fingertips.

That gentle show of intelligence was all that Alvis needed before being convinced that today was the best day to have gone out to the bay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me quickly say that last scene was by far the funnest scene I've ever written. It took a long time for me to be happy enough with the result, and a LOT of revisions, but I think in the end it turned out perfectly.

**Author's Note:**

> As a note I will let you know there is no set schedule for updates, it will be done as soon as a chapter has been edited. However, chapters can be expected every week to every other week somewhat. Maybe sooner, maybe later, I don't really know. 
> 
> Thank you though for reading and any feedback or thoughts are always appreciated! It helps me grow as a writer <3


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